There have been many types of electronic video poker gaming machines that have been developed over the years, some of the poker games being stud poker games and some being draw poker games. Each electronic video poker gaming machine is designed to replicate the play of a hand of poker. In some of the embodiments of these games, the player is not playing against any other players or against a dealer's hand; the player is simply attempting to achieve the highest ranking poker hand possible from the cards displayed to the player. The higher the poker hand achieved by the player, the greater the player's winnings based on the number of coins, tokens or credits wagered by the player.
In other embodiments of these games, the player plays his hand against a dealer's hand with the higher hand winning based on conventional poker hand rankings. If the player's hand beats the dealer's hand, the player wins and the higher the poker hand achieved by the player when the player has a winning hand, the greater the player's winnings based on the number of coins, tokens or credits wagered by the player.
The forerunner of all electronic video poker gaming machines is the video Draw Poker machine that deals cards from a standard 52 card poker deck and displays a single five card hand to the player. This is a conventional "player's hand only" game since the player does not play against a dealer's hand, but is only trying to achieve the highest poker hand ranking he can for the player's hand. After the cards are electronically shuffled and an initial deal of five cards is displayed to the player, the player then selects which of the five cards he wishes to hold. The draw poker machine then displays replacement cards for the cards the player has discarded. The player wins or loses based on conventional poker hand rankings for the resulting five card hand. A payout table is established based on the number of coins, tokens or credits wagered by the player (credits can be wagered by the player if the gaming machine has a credit meter that accrues credits earned by the player during the play of the game) and the type of poker hand achieved.
Table 1 shows a typical payout schedule that can be used in electronic video draw poker machines of the "player's hand only" type.
TABLE 1 ______________________________________ NUMBER OF COINS PLAYED TYPE OF HAND 1 2 3 4 5 ______________________________________ ROYAL FLUSH 250 500 750 1000 4000 STRAIGHT FLUSH 100 150 200 250 FOUR OF A KIND 50 75 100 125 FULL HOUSE 18 27 36 45 FLUSH 12 186 24 30 STRAIGHT 8 12 16 20 THREE OF A KIND 6 9 12 15 TWO PAIR 4 6 8 10 JACKS OR BETTER 2 3 4 5 ______________________________________
The classic draw poker machine has been modified to use jokers as wild cards or to use deuces (or even other cards) as wild cards. "Joker's Wild" and "Deuces Wild" draw poker still display to the player a single five card hand and allow the player to discard unwanted cards and receive replacement cards. The payout table is modified to recognize the differing odds for achieving various poker hands when wild cards are involved.
Other types of "player's hand only" poker games have been adapted to run on electronic video gaming machines. In the electronic version of "player's hand only" seven card stud poker, the player wagers one or more coins, tokens or credits to be eligible to play the game and the player is dealt three cards initially. The player then has the option of folding in which case he loses his initial wager or betting additional coins, tokens or credits to receive additional cards. Eventually the player has either folded or received a full seven card hand. The player wins or loses based on conventional poker hand rankings for the best five cards of his seven card hand. A payout table is established based on the number of coins, tokens or credits wagered by the player and the type of poker hand achieved.
In the electronic version of "player's hand only" five card stud poker, the player wagers one or more coins, tokens or credits to be eligible to play the game and the player is dealt four cards initially. The player then has the option of staying or betting additional coins, tokens or credits to increase the amount of a winning payout when he receives the fifth card. After the fifth card is dealt to the player, the value of his five card hand is determined based on conventional poker hand rankings for his five card hand. A payout table is established based on the number of coins, tokens or credits wagered by the player and the type of poker hand achieved.
Some of the poker card games adapted to electronic video gaming machines display both the player's hand and a dealer's hand. This occurs in those games where the player must beat the dealer in order to win.
One example of these combined "player's hand/dealer's hand" games is CARIBBEAN STUD.RTM. poker. This game is described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,886,553, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference.
Because of the proliferation of legalized gaming, the competition for players has increased. Operators of gaming machines have been increasing the payback percentage to attract players and the increase of the gaming percentage has resulted in a lowering of profits to the operators. There is a demand in the market for new gaming machines that create a higher volume of play so that profits can be increased even with the higher payback percentages that the players desire.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a stud poker game that uses multiple partial player hands and then uses a card selection procedure to complete each of the partial hands.
It is a feature of the present invention that multiple groups of three cards are dealt face up as the player hands. Two additional selection cards are dealt--one face up and one face down. The player selects either the face up card or the face down card to be added to the first player's hand. The non-selected card is discarded. Again, two selection cards are dealt--one face up and one face down and the player selects either the face up card or the face down card to be added to the second player's hand. The non-selected card is again discarded. Again, two selection cards are dealt--one face up and one face down and the player selects either the face up card or the face down card to be added to the third player's hand. Once each of the player's hands have four cards, the procedure is repeated until each of the player's hands have five cards. Each of the resulting five card hands are analyzed to determine the poker hand ranking of each five card hand. Depending on the poker hand ranking of each hand, the player wins or loses on each hand. If the player wins, the player's winning amount is based on a payout schedule and the amount wagered by the player on the winning hand.
It is an advantage of the present invention that video poker players are provided with a new, exciting and creative five card stud game. The method of play requires skill on the part of the player with the potential for high payouts of either fixed or progressive amounts.
Other objects, features and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from a consideration of the following detailed description.